Column: An election’s outcome does not determine nation’s fate

By Reece Gardner / Columnist

Published: Tuesday, November 27, 2012 at 08:43 PM.

Could it be that some of us may be a little overly-anxious about the outcome of our most recent election? While it may seem obvious that too many people in this country are becoming too dependent on government, it is also obvious that we live in a Republic in which there are true checks and balances, and the people still have the right to determine their destiny.

It has been somewhat amusing over the years to listen to the pundits analyze the consequences of elections. Let’s look back a few years.

After Harry Truman won an upset victory in 1948, the word was out: “If the Republicans can’t defeat Harry Truman, they can’t expect to win the presidency for many years to come.”

Four short years later, Dwight Eisenhower was elected in a landslide, and re-elected in another landslide in 1956.

After that second landslide, the word was out that the Democrats were not likely to occupy the White House again in the foreseeable future, but in fact John Kennedy was elected in 1960. Then it was Lyndon Johnson in a landslide victory in 1964, only to see Richard Nixon, who had been counted out of all political consideration when he lost the California governorship race to Pat Brown in 1962, win the presidency in 1968 and in 1972.

Then it was Democrat Carter in 1976, Republican Reagan in 1980 and 1984, Republican Bush Sr., in 1988. In 1992, when Bill Clinton won the presidency, there was also a huge Democratic victory in both houses of Congress.

The GOP loss was so devastating that Senator Hollings, Democrat of South Carolina, when asked if he planned to work with the Republican minority in the Senate, replied, “I will, if there are any of them left.” Just two years later, in 1994, Republicans won control of both the House and Senate.

Could it be that some of us may be a little overly-anxious about the outcome of our most recent election? While it may seem obvious that too many people in this country are becoming too dependent on government, it is also obvious that we live in a Republic in which there are true checks and balances, and the people still have the right to determine their destiny.

It has been somewhat amusing over the years to listen to the pundits analyze the consequences of elections. Let’s look back a few years.

After Harry Truman won an upset victory in 1948, the word was out: “If the Republicans can’t defeat Harry Truman, they can’t expect to win the presidency for many years to come.”

Four short years later, Dwight Eisenhower was elected in a landslide, and re-elected in another landslide in 1956.

After that second landslide, the word was out that the Democrats were not likely to occupy the White House again in the foreseeable future, but in fact John Kennedy was elected in 1960. Then it was Lyndon Johnson in a landslide victory in 1964, only to see Richard Nixon, who had been counted out of all political consideration when he lost the California governorship race to Pat Brown in 1962, win the presidency in 1968 and in 1972.

Then it was Democrat Carter in 1976, Republican Reagan in 1980 and 1984, Republican Bush Sr., in 1988. In 1992, when Bill Clinton won the presidency, there was also a huge Democratic victory in both houses of Congress.

The GOP loss was so devastating that Senator Hollings, Democrat of South Carolina, when asked if he planned to work with the Republican minority in the Senate, replied, “I will, if there are any of them left.” Just two years later, in 1994, Republicans won control of both the House and Senate.

All of this is to say that one or two elections do not determine the fate of our great nation. Also, I think that sometimes we forget that we have 50 individual state governments, all with co-equal executive and legislative branches. We also need to keep in mind that our national government has co-equal executive and legislative branches, co-equal in importance.

Republicans emerged with a solid majority in the U.S. House, which happens to have a great deal of control over the purse strings. There are some who maintain that the GOP lost terribly in this year’s elections, but that just isn’t borne out by the facts.

Nationwide, Republicans have a 30-20 majority of governors, a 24-13 lead in the “single party” category (where one party controls the governorship and both houses of the legislature), a 28-20 majority in state senates and a 28-21 majority in state houses.

And here in North Carolina, Republicans now control the Senate, 32-18, and the House, 77-43, having picked up eight additional legislative seats this year, as well as winning the governorship.
So both parties have a significant amount of power and authority, both nationally and statewide.

What we need to do now is work together for the good of the country, and in that regard North Carolina has just become the state to host an active chapter of Fix the Debt, a non-partisan group working to promote solutions to the problem of the growing national debt.

Folks, the first three words to the Preamble to the Constitution are, “We the People.” Let’s keep it that way. God bless America!

Reece Gardner is the host of “The Reece Gardner Hour,” which airs on TACC-9 on Mondays at 9 p.m., Tuesdays at 8 p.m., Thursdays at 11 p.m., Sundays at 10:30 p.m.and on-demand anytime at TACC9.com. You can reach Reece at rbgej@aol.com.